


Once More, With Tea

by fanfic_nonnie



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 3+1 Things, Chocolate Box Treat, Family, Gen, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 14:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5788825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfic_nonnie/pseuds/fanfic_nonnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko learns to appreciate tea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once More, With Tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Allekha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allekha/gifts).



“Tea?” Zuko looked fairly skeptical of his uncle.

Iroh chuckled at the little boy as he poured. “Tea is important activity. As a prince, you must learn to be an excellent host and use calm in the face of poor manners. Tea will help you with this.”

It was a little funny to see how baffling the young prince found the whole thing, but it also brought a sharp pang as Iroh remembered his own son learning how to serve and drink tea in keeping with traditional Fire Nation etiquette. Zuko had no one else to teach him these things anymore, not with Ursa missing or dead and his brother Ozai more skeptical of the importance of social niceties than Zuko.

“One day, my nephew, you will learn to appreciate tea.”

* * *

It was clear aboard the ship together, chasing the Avatar, that the day Zuko would learn to appreciate tea had not yet arrived.

For all he came in shivering from on deck at times, Zuko preferred to hover over the flaming stove than to join Iroh for a warming cup of tea.

“It warms you from the inside,” Iroh reminded him, “and warms your chi.”

“My chi is fine, Uncle,” Zuko said grimly. “My drive to seek him is fire enough.”

The words were only too true. Zuko had traveled the path of his father and grandfather, feeding his inner fires with anger and determination.

Iroh sighed. He wanted to tell him that warm tea was meant for a cold day and could maybe even soothe his anger, but he let it go for another day when Zuko would be more ready and willing to listen.

* * *

Even after letting go of his anger and accepting his place in his uncle’s tea shop, Zuko still took little care with the delicate nature of Iroh’s favorite beverage. At least, that was Iroh’s conclusion when he came back into the kitchen for the cup Zuko had brewed for a customer.

“Uncle!” Zuko greeted Iroh with all the caught out look of a kid with his hand in the cookie jar.

Well experienced, Iroh looked past him to the cup he had come to collect. “Zuko, what have you done to those tea leaves?” he asked, consternated at the dark brew and the faintly scorched smell.

“It was taking too long,” Zuko protested.

Iroh picked up the cup with a sigh and sniffed. Ruined. “With tea, you must be patient. Faster and hotter is not always better.”

Zuko looked away. Even he knew the tea was not fit to be served.

* * *

“Uncle,” Firelord Zuko greeted Iroh with a bow and welcomed him home to the Fire Palace. “We’ve been expecting you.” His ‘we’ seemed to include little Izumi tucked into her mother’s arms and Mai, who was smiling.

It was good to be back in the Fire Nation for a visit, his tea shop left in capable hands for a few days, and a pleasant tea ahead of him.

“I made it myself,” Zuko offered brightly as he poured the tea and offered Iroh a cup.

In the past, this would generally be a warning, though unbeknownst to his well-meaning nephew. Iroh braced himself and sipped, then surprised, said, “This is quite good!”

“I hoped you would like it,” Zuko said with a mellow smile that suited him well.

Izumi was clearly more skeptical. She spat out her tea with a disgusted look.

Mai shook her head. “I am sorry.”

“Nonsense,” Iroh said with a fondness for the child that outweighed her untrained taste in beverages.

But Zuko stole his next words with a glimmer in his eye that said he also remembered. “One day, she’ll learn to appreciate tea.”


End file.
